Nearly 400K fentanyl pills seized in Utah as part of nationwide operation

SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 400,000 fentanyl pills have been seized in Utah as part of a nationwide operation aimed at disrupting the flow of the drug into the United States.

Operation Fentanyl Free America launched in October. According to Miguel Chino, assistant special agent in charge at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division, there were a little over one million fentanyl pills and “a lot” of fentanyl powder seized in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used to relieve pain.

“This area – Utah – we’ve seized pretty close to 400,000 fentanyl pills, which is just amazing and unbelievable and scary at the same time,” Chino told KSL TV.

Chino said disrupting fentanyl trafficking involves enforcement and education.

“It’s letting the public know that 30% of all those pills that we seized are fatal,” he said. “You’re playing Russian roulette with those pills. If you take a pill, you could die. There’s a 30% chance you’re going to die.”

Earlier this year, a new Utah law went into effect making fentanyl trafficking a first-degree felony. Rep. Matt Gwynn, R-Farr West – who’s also the Roy police chief – became emotional talking about fentanyl overdoses during a legislative hearing.

“I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve had to listen to the screams on the other end of a phone when family members are notifying other family members about their sister, their uncle,” said Gwynn. “Those screams are repeated when they walk in the door.”

According to Chino, the goal of this operation is to eliminate illegal fentanyl, which the Drug Enforcement Administration says is smuggled into the U.S. primarily from Mexico.

“These aren’t scientists that are actually putting the power together or the pills,” Chino said. “These are Mexican cartels that are putting this together, and the only thing they want is money. They just want to make money. They don’t care if people die.”

According to the CDC, nearly 50,000 Americans died last year from fentanyl overdoses, which is down from around 76,000 in 2023.

Nationwide, more than 45 million fentanyl pills have been seized since the operation started in October, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Related: 1000 fentanyl pills seized in operation on Jordan River Trail